4TH INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS WORKSHOP SUMMARY MARCH 20-22 MISSOULA, MONTANA ABSTRACT: This document is a synopsis of the presentations and discussions at the 4th International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop. Topics include urban and rural bear management, biological criteria for lethal removal, bear spray and firearms use for safety, hunting effects on the frequency of human-bear conflicts, habituated bear management, engaging the public to reduce human-bear conflicts, the risks and liability regarding conflict management, efficacy of outreach efforts, and best management practices for developing human-bear conflict guidelines. Summarized by Colleen Matt Bear Conservation Planning Missoula, MT WORKSHOP PARTNERS Counter Assault Bear Deterrent Polar Bears International Safety in Bear Country Society US Fish and Wildlife Service World Wildlife Fund’s Arctic Programme WORKSHOP SPONSORS: Allied waste services, BNSF Railway, Grand Teton National Park, Living With Wildlife Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, People and Carnivores, University of Montana College of Forestry & Conservation, Yellowstone National Park 4th INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS WORKSHOP SUMMARY Page 1 4th INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS WORKSHOP SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ 2 Workshop Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3 KEYNOTE: Human-bear encounters: some comments on what we know ................................... 5 SESSION 1: Management of bears at the urban/suburban/wild lands interface ................. 8 DEMONSTRATION: CellBase camera system to monitor trap sites ....................................... 13 SESSION 2: Biological criteria for lethal removal of conflict bears ....................................... 14 SESSION 3: Hunters and bear spray; Why aren’t people using bear spray?… ................ 18 POSTER SESSION titles .................................................................................................................... 23 SESSION 4: Does public hunting reduce, enhance or have no effect on bear conflicts? What are the mechanisms by which hunting has these effects? ........................ 24 DEMONSTRATION: Bringing bear awareness into the classroom ........................................... 29 SESSION 5: Management of habituated bears near developed areas ............................... 30 DEMONSTRATION: Electric fencing to prevent conflicts ........................................................... 34 SESSION 6: Communicating to resolve human-bear conflicts, or Deliver your message without getting mauled by Homo sapiens horribilis ........................... 35 SESSION 7: Risk and liability ......................................................................................................... 38 PRESENTATION: Taser Electronic Control Devices for wildlife management; history, case series and research ............................................................................... 44 SESSION 8: International perspectives on human-bear conflicts ............................................. 46 SESSION 9: Working with different constituencies .................................................................... 50 SESSION 10: Efficacy of outreach, education and conflict prevention efforts ..................... 53 DEMONSTRATION: Satellite trapsite checking ........................................................................... 58 WORKSHOP: Decision trees, matrices or guidelines? Best management practices for HBC response planning ................................................................................. 58 Workshop Wrap-up ........................................................................................................................ 61 APPENDIX I: Terms used in bear-people conflict management ............................................... 64 APPENDIX II: contributors ................................................................................................................ 67 APPENDIX III: Poster Abstracts ....................................................................................................... 73 Page 2 4th INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS WORKSHOP SUMMARY 4th INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS WORKSHOP SUMMARY MARCH 20-22, 2012 MISSOULA, MONTANA WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION Chris Servheen, US Fish and Wildlife Grizzly Bear Recovery Program Servheen welcomed participants and gave a brief history of the human-bear conflicts workshops. The first workshop was held in Yellowknife in 1987. The agenda contained few references to managing the human side of the equation. The attendance was small due to the remoteness of the venue. In 1997, Andy McMullen and Jeff Marley initiated the Second Human-Bear Conflicts Workshop in Canmore, Alberta, and attracted a larger crowd. The establishment of new diamond mines in the Northwest Territories generated a lot of interest in human-bear conflicts. Most of the 140 participants were American and Canadian field managers and biologists, and this cohort has continued to attend human-bear conflicts workshops in large numbers. At that meeting there were eight sessions related to bear management and only one session related to human dimensions. Then, as now, a small committee that was not directly affiliated with any agency or group organized the workshop. Despite intentions to hold the next workshop within five years, the Third International human-bear conflicts workshop was held 12 years later in 2009, again in Canmore. Andy McMullen, Hal Morrison and Sandra MacDougall were instrumental in launching the workshop. Polar Bear International added a fourth day to the workshop that focused on polar bear conflict management. The 180 participants included biologists from Russia, Sweden and Greenland. There was a lot more discussion of non-lethal management of bears, signaling a transition from strictly lethal management. The workshop highlighted the role and benefits of community-based programs. A summary of this workshop is available on our workshop website. Patti Sowka volunteered to initiate the 4th International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop in Missoula in 3 years, and she subsequently contacted Servheen. Patti and Servheen recruited some organizing committee members from earlier workshops and some new faces joined as well. There are 300 participants at this workshop and others were turned away because of limited space in this venue. It is apparent that the topic of human-bear conflict is becoming more popular, reflecting its importance. This workshop agenda evolved to include four sessions devoted to bear management issues, five sessions focused on human dimensions, and one international session. The evolution from managing just bears to managing people illustrates our professional recognition that human involvement in managing conflicts is crucial to their reduction. Servheen welcomed participants to the workshop and encouraged them to interact and give the whole group the benefit of their observations and experience. Servheen recognized the partners, sponsors and supporters that made this workshop possible: PARTNERS US Fish and Wildlife Service Marine Mammals Program World Wildlife Fund’s Global Arctic Programme Counter Assault Bear Deterrent Page 3 4th INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS WORKSHOP SUMMARY Polar Bears International The Safety in Bear Country Society SPONSORS Allied Waste Services BNSF Railway Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park Foundation Living With Wildlife Foundation National Wildlife Federation People and Carnivores UM College of Forestry & Conservation US Fish & Wildlife Service Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park Foundation SUPPORTERS Glacier National Park Great Northern Environmental Stewardship Area Idaho Department of Fish & Game Mattson’s Laboratory, LLC Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks US Forest Service - National Carnivore Program Vital Ground Foundation Wyoming Game & Fish Department Page 4 4th INTERNATIONAL HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS WORKSHOP SUMMARY KEYNOTE: HUMAN-BEAR ENCOUNTERS: SOME COMMENTS ON WHAT WE KNOW PRESENTER Chris Servheen, Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator, US Fish & Wildlife Service Chris Servheen began by reviewing the fatal attacks by black bear on people in North America published in 2011 by Herrero et al1. These data show that black bear attacks have increased in recent decades. Eighty-six percent of the attacks between 1900 and 2009 have occurred since 1960. One hundred and forty-five million people have been added to the US and Canada since 1960. Between 1988 and 2001, the North American black bear population increased by more than 17.6%. There are more North American black bears than there are all of the other six bear species combined. The higher number of attacks is likely due to both increasing numbers of humans in black bear habitat and increasing black bear populations. The Herrero et al. paper noted some common features of the reviewed black bear attacks. Notably, human food and/or garbage was present in 38% of the attacks, bear spray was not used in any of the fatal attacks, and most of the attacks were by predatory bears with little or no prior association with people. Some examples of grizzly bear conflicts in the US Northern Rockies Using the US Northern Rockies as an example, research has shown some behavioral generalizations.